Odd 'solvent' smell coming from kitchen??

[MrsMc]

Hi there,

Live on Malfort Road, adjoining streets are Bromar, Ivanhoe and Grove Hill Roads. I and my neighbour opposite have noticed a really strong solvent smell coming from our respective kitchens this morn. On the phone to the National Grid as I type, but not necessarily a smell I'd associate with gas. Have checked cupboards to see whether there are any overturned cleaning products, but there's nothing I can find.

Any suggestions or anyone else experiencing the same problem this morning and got to the bottom of it. Also thinking of trying Thames Water?!?

Smell is so strong it's giving me a cracking headache!

Best wishes, Donna

[Sue]

That's very strange, because my neighbour noticed the same thing.

Ulverscroft Road.

Does seem to be associated with gas being on but doesn't smell of gas.

I thought I smelled the same thing when I was cooking, but can't be sure in my case because I have been painting a room and there is a strong smell of paint anyway.

[MrsMc]

Gas man has been round and confirmed that there is no leak in either my or my neighbour's house, so we can rule that out! Still a very strong smell though :-(

[another annie]

We've had a similar problem for the last couple of days. Like you we thought we'd overturned a cleaning product, but couldn't find anything. We're a long way from you, Landcroft Road, but it's a bit of a coincidence. Seems less strong this morning, maybe because we're leaving internal doors open to try to disperse it, or maybe we're just getting used to it! Anyone else...?

[MrsMc]

Very strange - called Thames Water and they can't suggest any likely causes either. The mystery continues!

[ianr]

Is it coming up through the water waste pipe? In my previous place, I was once affected in my ground floor flat by a solvent that had been poured down the wastepipe in the upstairs flat, though I don't know what to make of the spread of the reports here. If it does seem a possibility,has anyone asked Thames Water's opinion, with a list of properties affected?

[ianr]

There was a strange smell thread a few months ago. I thought the only 'explanation' given was probably some kind of joke. But the reports of a widespread stench were real enough, so worth mentioning: http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?5,695706,695850#msg-695850

[ianr]

It really would be helpful to work out whether it's an airborne thing. Could the instances have resulted from air coming in from outside? What directions do the affected rooms face?

[steveo]

Meth factory

[another annie]

Ours is definitely inside the house. And stronger towards floor level. Getting a bit less now, but still disturbing and a little eye-watering, though that symptom may be psychological.

[Sue]

My neighbour's smell was definitely inside the house, and this was a couple of days ago.

I had smelled it before she mentioned it, but didn't want to seem rude by mentioning it as I didn't know what it might be :)

Then she asked if I could smell this strange chemical-like smell that seemed to be coming from the cooker (burners were on) but that didn't smell like gas.

We were both quite puzzled.

Just because there isn't an actual gas leak doesn't mean the smell couldn't be coming from the gas? Do you have a gas cooker, MrsMc? Was it on when you smelled the smell?

ETA: I think this is a bit worrying, because if chemicals have got into some system somewhere and are strong enough to be smelled inside houses over quite a large area, there could be a health hazard - obviously.

ETA: Landcroft Road is quite near Ulverscroft Road, but they are nowhere near the Ivanhoe Road area.

[GinaG3]

Why not trying calling enviromental health team at the council, they will deal with many issues like this. Ive also known issues such as thick black dust settling literally every 20 mintues all over worktops in kitchens to be sorted by council enviromental health department. Some odd occurences in peoples houses these days. Maybe try and call them before christmas, it its worrying you, and certainly if you have children in the house. Although it could be something of nothing!

[computedshorty]

Try looking at the "U" in your sink.

When there is water in it, it acts as a barrier to smells coming up the waste pipe, should any other pipes be connected to this one you might have had a vaccum sucking the water from your waste " U " Bend Trap.

Try pouring water in the sink to fill your pipe up.

It it is common in long standing empty properties, that the W.C dries out of water and the Sewage smell fills the property.

[Sue]

It's not a sewage type smell, it's definitely a chemical of some kind

[Sue]

Gas man currently at my neighbours.

He can smell the smell but says it's not gas.

He says it's chemicals. She doesn't use chemicals.

I've just printed out this thread for her to show him.

ETA: I also woke up with a splitting headache this morning, but I thought it was due to the paint I have been using. Now I'm worried it could be this chemical, as my neighbour has a bad headache as well.

[MrsMc]

Smell seems to be subsiding here. Thanks all for your thoughts ands suggestions, as Sue says its definitely an inside smell rather than something coming in from the outside and chemical rather than sewage. My suspicion is that someone has poured something dodgy down the drains nearby, but that doesn't explain the problems in Ulverscroft/Landcroft. Hopefully whatever it is is passing of its own accord.

[Sue]

My neighbour has just asked me to ask people with this problem if they have a cleaner.

She is wondering if her cleaner may have used some new kind of oven cleaner or something which she brought with her.

Anyone??

[MrsP]

We experienced a similar issue earlier this year. There was a strong smell of chemical, what I can only describe as similar to white spirit, smell in our kitchen. Eventually it went away but I suspect it was the result of some kind of paint solvent or cleaner being poured down the drain by decorators next door.

[Penguin68]

The smell could be caused by an oven cleaner being 'burnt off' when the oven is switched on, but that wouldn't explain it appearing in a number of houses, unless they have all, fortuitously, started using the same cleaner at roughly the same time. It is also true that some cleaning people are peculiarly wedded to over use of bleach, but that smell should dissipate quickly.

Solvents are used in the production (illegal) of some drugs - do you have cellars in your house - often in terraced or semi-detached houses there is some connectivity between cellars and smells etc. can cross over (and would then tend to seep up. It is unlikely that smells from discharges into drains would impact - traps work to keep any smell out - I think checking with environmental health would be a good idea, if the smell persists at all, or comes back again. If chemicals were discharged into the ground they could get into groundwater - then they could start to seep up through foundations etc. (this is difffrent from discharge into the drainage system, which should be impervious).

[Sue]

Gas man has advised my neighbour to have the oven checked out by British Gas Homecare .... and not to use the oven in the meantime .... but I tend to think the solvent explanation is more likely, particularly given the nature of the smell.

[another annie]

Ha ha, I wish! And we haven't bought/used any new products ourselves lately.

Smell still here but no worse, if it goes of its own accord I'll assume it was as MrsMc suggests, that maybe someone has put something down the drain that's wafted up into ours, and it's just a coincidence that a mysterious smell has also appeared the other side of ED.

Sue Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> My neighbour has just asked me to ask people with

> this problem if they have a cleaner.

>

> She is wondering if her cleaner may have used some

> new kind of oven cleaner or something which she

> brought with her.

>

> Anyone??

[Norfolkvillas]

This thread has reminded me that about 10 days ago I came home in the evening to find the house reeking of some kind of cleaning fluid - just as if a whole bottle of something had tipped over somewhere. It most definitely came from our laundry room but I couldn't find anything. I asked my nanny and my husband and neither could shed any light, and by morning it had disappeared. To be honest, I didn't give it a second thought until now.... We're on the corner of Friern and Underhill, so not close to either of the other two areas mentioned..... weird!!

[lilolil]

noticed this when I came home from work tonight too...Hindmans road

[GinaG3]

Odd questions, but is anyone using high watt bulbs in a low watt light socket, possibly forgetting to turn the light out and it being left on longer than usual? This can also sometimes cause a very pungent chemical type smell. Probably not, seeing as happening to alot of people but possible..

[peterstorm1985]

Can anyone actually describe the chemical smell? Does it smell like cleaning fluid that you'd use on the floor, or in the loo. Or is it like a burnt electrical flex? Slightly fishy, or slightly sweet? Nail varnish remover or craft resin smell?

The reason I ask is that you do sometimes get a whiff off water (and I might guess that it could with gas) when new pipes are installed or repair work done somewhere in the line. I presume it's the flushing liquid used to test for leaks and/or sterilise prior to use.